This blog maintains the thoughts on various topics related to biomedical and health informatics by Dr. William Hersh, Professor and Chair, Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health & Science University.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

My Choice of a Smartwatch

I am one of those people who is sometimes derisively called an Apple Fanboy. That is, I tend to buy most Apple products, and almost always have the latest iPhone or iPad. This led to people (including myself!) wondering if I would acquire an Apple Watch. What follows is not a product review, but rather my perceptions of smartwatches based on my particular needs.

Based on these two needs, I decided not to purchase an Apple Watch, at least in its first iteration. I see the initial Apple Watch as more of an iPhone accessory than a standalone watch. On the other hand, I have had a succession of Garmin sports watches that have handled my second wristwatch need without needing to be tethered to my iPhone. I am particular enamored with the new Garmin vivoactive watch, which connects to my iPhone via Bluetooth and gets rid of the hassle of earlier Garmin GPS watches that required data transfer via cables or wireless with specific devices needing to be plugged into the computer’s USB port (Ant+). Once the data is transferred to my iPhone, it is then automatically uploaded to the Garmin Web site.

Some have asked, why not just run with your iPhone? I actually occasionally do that, but I do not want to be required to do so. I prefer to have all my GPS tracking done with only a watch, and I have no desire to carry my iPhone each time I want to track a run, especially in inclement weather (such as Oregon rain).

The vivoactive has a number of other interesting features. One is that the watch now actually has a software platform, ConnectIQ, that allows development of apps, such as different watch faces and those aimed at specific sports. (I mainly use my watch for running and cycling, and the built-in apps are fine for that.) The watch also provides notifications (vibration and short display) of those emanating from the phone, such as text messages, incoming calls, and calendar reminders. In short, the vivoactive could be the smartwatch that the Apple Watch should have been, although I have to admit that I may at some point discontinue the notifications from my iPhone, since I do not always want the distraction.

I have not tried any other smartwatches, nor other tracking devices such as the FitBit. I cannot imagine I would find them that useful. I do recognize that newer technologies may come along in the future and change my approach, but for now I am content wear my vivoactive on my wrist and use it to track my runs. (And in case anyone is wondering, I do not own stock in either Garmin or Apple.)